10,000 US troops being deployed in Haiti to keep the peace, minus the necessary aid - wonder how long they can maintain order and fair distribution of any supplies without getting into a potential flash point with the local population?

Looters have emptied food shops and scuffles have broken out among survivors fighting over scarce water as the wait for help drags on. Brazilâs Defence Minister, Nelson Jobim, warned that the Brazilian-led peacekeeping force could struggle if desperation spilled into violence. âWe are worried about security,â he said."

Not hard to assume that the US will have to take control - its got the largest contingent of forces there, with about 10,000 troops, 2 air carriers, and several destroyers - and the UN in the region is near enough crippled. Well, they've already taken control of the airport, according to sources? Now, wouldn't it be wise to attempt to level somewhere else for a landing site, say a bit outside the city? That said, i don't know the geography, so its probably a bad idea.

Mind you, I'd be pretty likely to be rioting if I was Haitian, in all fairness.

Squiggers- I have to agree, but I don't know the local geography either and the last thing you want to do is build anything on an area that could suffer badly in an aftershock!

As I understand it, while the Septics are committing lots of support, the Brazilians were the first to get fresh troops in and get things rolling.

Having read about the state of Haiti pre-earthquake in another thread (can't be bothered to find the link- the AA Gill article in the Times) then it might be an opportunity to help Haiti become a functioning state in the long run. God knows, the poor buggers have to bottom out sooner or later don't they?